There aren't many cities in Germany that I haven't visited the last couple of years. One was still on my wishlist: Heidelberg. The city of love, the city that wasn't bombed to bits during the second World War, the city with the famous castle. And the city of many creative hotspots? That's what I was trying to find out.

Of course, I managed to visit Heidelberg, Germany, during the hottest week of the year. My guide clapped her hands and said: you are so lucky, it was still raining yesterday! Well, I was thankful it wasn't raining, but it's not my idea of a good time visiting a city when it's 35C. Too darn hot. But since this wasn't exactly Heidelberg's fault, and work had to be done, I decided to explore as I normally would, but on a different schedule: work and explore in the early morning, find shade and my hotel room in the afternoon, and start working again from the late afternoon. And this was all quite doable, after all: Heidelberg is pretty darn cute.

Heidelberg is one of those German cities that are easily explored in a day or two. Most visitors only stay for a day, but I think that is a tad too short. Of course, you have to visit the famous Castle of Heidelberg and that visit will easily take up a couple of hours. Then, there is the old town, the university and the bridges. On the other side of the river, there are a couple of nice hiking trails which provide excellent views over the city.

Who would have thought that Heidelberg would also have a modern side! I took a tour with a guide, who pointed me in the direction of some excellent street art and some nice neighbourhoods outside the city centre. The places where locals actually meet up and where the streets are calm and peaceful.

On Hauptstraße, the main street of Heidelberg in the old town, I immediately found a wool shop called Wolle Rödel. This most be some kinds of chain, as I also found a shop with this name in Hannover. But anyway, I really liked this wool shop. There was so many yarn to chose from and the staff was really nice.

Märzgasse is probably the most creative street in Heidelberg, with lots of funky and colourful cafés and with a branch of Idees. This is a creative department store, with branches all over Germany. It's not cheap, but it is full of inspiration. I wandered into an Idees when I was in Hannover and Berlin, and in Heidelberg I was also not disappointed. I mean, the choices of crochet books and magazine are just amazing.

Just around the corner, on a wide street called Plöck, I found a fabric store, more cute coffee places and a couple of really nice boutique shops. My favourite was Room Mate with lots of pretty cards and lovely jewelry. I really recommend going there.

I traveled to Heidelberg by train. Train travel is pretty easy in Germany. When you fly into Frankfurt airport of Stuttgart airport it's really easy to book a train ticket to Heidelberg. Now, since Heidelberg is so popular it is not so easy to find an affordable hotel in town. I quite liked Hotel Mille Stelle, as their rooms are light, nice and clean and the hotel is situated in the prettiest street in Heidelberg (or that's what I think, gorgeous Jugendstil buildings!). Check out more creative guides in Germany.